The Truth is Out There

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Speaker 2 Story 1.

Speaker 2 Taken in the night.

Speaker 2 Stories of mysterious abductions have been with us for decades to the point that they've become a huge part of Western culture.

Speaker 2 Unfortunately, this has erased much of the nuance surrounding these events, including strange occurrences felt before, during, and even after the abduction itself.

Speaker 2 Perhaps it's finally time for people to listen to what really happened to those who found themselves taken in the night.

Speaker 2 Since the 1961 case of Barney and Betty Hill, so-called alien abduction stories have largely followed a familiar pattern.

Speaker 2 There are flashes of light, lost time, and haunting dreamlike memories of grim medical procedures and experiments.

Speaker 2 While skeptics argue that these similarities point to fabricated experiences, believers contend that such consistent details across so many accounts suggest something real.

Speaker 2 Yet over time, the constant retelling of these stories has blurred many of the original details. Like a copy of a copy, only the broad strokes remain intact.

Speaker 2 To fully understand these experiences, it's essential to return to the source, the men and women who claim to have lived through them.

Speaker 2 For instance, many people who report encounters with extraterrestrials describe them not as isolated incidents, but as recurring events.

Speaker 2 Some recall an unsettling sense of dread or paranoia in the days leading up to an encounter, marked by jitteriness and repetitive behaviours like repeatedly locking doors and windows.

Speaker 2 One abductee compared this behaviour to how animals act when sensing a nearby predator.

Speaker 2 Stranger still are the frequent reports of bizarre auditory experiences, ringing, beeping or clicking sounds that seem to come from nowhere.

Speaker 2 When these individuals ask others nearby if they can hear it, They often discover that the sound exists only in their minds.

Speaker 2 Other senses also seem to go haywire, with many reporting a strong smell of sulphur or feeling an unsettling vibration throughout their body.

Speaker 2 Some even describe poltergeist-like phenomena such as objects moving by themselves or electrical devices malfunctioning.

Speaker 2 The presence of these various phenomena surrounding abductions challenges the tired, drunken fishermen stereotypes often apply to these individuals.

Speaker 2 In truth, those who've experienced such encounters often describe a lasting sense of vulnerability as if their safety can never be guaranteed again.

Speaker 2 The following tales were sent directly to bedtime stories representing first-hand accounts from those who say they have lived through these terrifying experiences.

Speaker 2 A man going by the pseudonym Joe Keble wrote to us about an experience he had in 1989. when he was a student at Bristol University in England.

Speaker 2 He recalls waking up one night at around 2am.

Speaker 2 He was lying on his stomach, but after opening his eyes he suddenly realised that he couldn't move.

Speaker 2 At the same time, he became aware of a pressure pushing down upon him as if something was physically holding him down.

Speaker 2 He happened to have a large TV sitting on a chest of drawers across from his bed. a hefty old CRT his parents had given him when he went off to university.

Speaker 2 Its massive screen reflected the faint glow of the street lamps outside almost like a mirror.

Speaker 2 It was then that Joe's tired eyes fixed on a dark, unfamiliar shape sitting on his back.

Speaker 2 The figure was small, roughly the size of a child, but clearly not human.

Speaker 2 Its head was unnaturally large, its body far too slight.

Speaker 2 Suddenly there was a flash of movement, and Joe saw the glint of huge almond-shaped eyes reflecting back at him.

Speaker 2 The being,

Speaker 2 whatever it was, had turned its head and was now staring directly at him through the mirror image.

Speaker 2 Then came a strange grating noise.

Speaker 2 Horrified but paralyzed, Joe watched as the TV slowly began to rotate on the dresser.

Speaker 2 After several moments, it had turned enough so that he could no longer see the creature in the reflection.

Speaker 2 Then, without warning, he felt a sharp pain in his back.

Speaker 2 Moments later, he lost consciousness.

Speaker 2 When Joe awoke later that morning, he felt groggy. almost as though he'd been drugged.

Speaker 2 Expecting the drowsiness to lift after a few minutes, he waited, but the brain fog stubbornly persisted.

Speaker 2 Hoping a shower might clear his thoughts, he headed to the bathroom.

Speaker 2 There,

Speaker 2 as he undressed, he noticed a small, red triangular mark on his back.

Speaker 2 When he pressed it with his finger, A sharp pain radiated outward.

Speaker 2 It was fresh and still tender.

Speaker 2 This discovery unsettled him.

Speaker 2 He'd awoken with a hazy memory of the strange creature from the night before but had initially dismissed it as nothing more than a bizarre dream.

Speaker 2 After his shower he returned to his room only to find that his television was in a different position.

Speaker 2 In his email, Joe insisted he had never suffered from sleep paralysis either before or after this incident.

Speaker 2 He also emphasised that the physical evidence, the mark on his back and the moved television suggested that what he experienced wasn't just in his mind.

Speaker 2 As disturbing as Joe's story is, it pales in comparison to the experience of Kevin Jones and his then-girlfriend, Claire.

Speaker 2 In the early 2000s, the couple suffered a rash of inexplicable events that culminated in a truly terrifying encounter.

Speaker 2 A native of Wisconsin in the United States, Kevin reports that he began noticing strange goings-on a full week before the actual event.

Speaker 2 It all started one day whilst he was working in his home office. As he was looking at his computer monitor, he noticed a small black figure standing off to the left in his peripheral vision.

Speaker 2 Upon turning his head, the being disappeared.

Speaker 2 But whilst a single such instance could easily be dismissed as the mind playing tricks, Kevin reports that this happened again and again at all times of the day.

Speaker 2 He would be moving around the house doing different activities and suddenly catch a glimpse of the same small figure out the corner of his eye, but the moment he tried to focus on it, the shape would simply vanish.

Speaker 2 Kevin assumed this was all due to fatigue and made a silent promise to himself to get more sleep.

Speaker 2 However, one night, night, he decided to mention the phenomenon to Claire and was shocked to hear that she too had been experiencing the same thing.

Speaker 2 Try as they might, neither of them could shake the feeling that they were being watched.

Speaker 2 Over the course of the next week, things only got worse.

Speaker 2 Pictures would fall from walls. Items would fall off shelves.

Speaker 2 In all cases, nobody would be anywhere near them.

Speaker 2 Twice, the couple came home to find the cushions on their sofa rearranged into strange pentagon formations on the living room floor.

Speaker 2 Before long, the pair's frequent jokes about the house being haunted took on a less jovial, more sinister turn.

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Speaker 2 One night, they were both sitting in the living room. Claire was watching TV and Kevin was reading a book.

Speaker 2 Suddenly, Kevin heard a metallic beeping as if someone was tapping Morse code.

Speaker 2 As strange as the sound was, its origins were more bizarre.

Speaker 2 Rather than being detected by his ears, he swears to this day that the noise came from inside his head. as if emanating from the very center of his brain.

Speaker 2 Moments after the noise finally died down, Claire looked looked at him and asked, did you just hear that?

Speaker 2 The look on her face was one of confusion, but neither of them could pinpoint which direction the sound had come from.

Speaker 2 Strangest of all, the couple's two dogs didn't seem to react to it at all.

Speaker 2 Still, as far as they could tell, nothing else was amiss, so the couple simply went to bed as usual.

Speaker 2 However, when they awoke the following day, they both felt as if something was off.

Speaker 2 Claire complained of a sore patch on her stomach just below her navel, whilst Kevin was plagued by a sense of unease and detachment that he couldn't quite explain.

Speaker 2 In the weeks that followed, they both experienced strange and vivid dreams of what they could only describe as weird-looking people.

Speaker 2 Eventually, the images of the figures became so intrusive that Kevin found himself developing a debilitating insomnia.

Speaker 2 As his waking life began to suffer more and more, he decided to visit a hypnotherapist to help him improve his sleep.

Speaker 2 But when he told them what he'd been dreaming about, the therapist could not hide their concern. In fact, they suggested that Kevin undergo hypnotic regression.

Speaker 2 Reluctantly, Kevin agreed. and together the two uncovered the following memory.

Speaker 2 On the night the couple had heard the strange metallic beeping noise, Kevin found himself awoken by a dull thud.

Speaker 2 Upon opening his eyes, he found that he was lying on his back but was entirely paralysed.

Speaker 2 He could see a black silhouette standing at the end of the bed, and from the corner of his eyes, he could see that Claire was not lying next to him.

Speaker 2 Instead, the covers were swept back as if she'd gotten up in the middle of the night.

Speaker 2 Then Kevin caught a rustle of movement. Another small black silhouette was moving off to the side.

Speaker 2 Try as he might to turn his head and confront the figure, it wouldn't budge.

Speaker 2 Suddenly he felt himself being lifted up.

Speaker 2 As this happened, He rotated onto his side so that he was facing directly towards the other black shape. But it was no longer at the side of the bed.

Speaker 2 Instead, it was walking slowly out the bedroom door, and that's when he saw Claire.

Speaker 2 She was floating, just above the floor, moving along with a figure as if being dragged by an invisible rope.

Speaker 2 Like Kevin, she seemed to be awake, but immobilised. All she could do was stare upwards, a look of sheer terror on her face.

Speaker 2 Completely helpless, Kevin's body rolled over and over until he lightly impacted the bedroom floor. He was now facing towards the ceiling floating just above the carpet.

Speaker 2 That's when the figure that had been standing at the end of the bed began moving towards him.

Speaker 2 As it did so, Kevin could feel his body moving in the direction of the doorway. in the same way his girlfriend had.

Speaker 2 Out in the hallway there was a third figure. However, where the first two were entirely black, this one exhibited some features.

Speaker 2 Unfortunately, Kevin was still unable to move anything but his eyes, which darted around in their sockets probing for some clue as to what might be happening to him.

Speaker 2 Though he did not get a clear look at the third being, he could just barely make out a short frame beneath a large, grey-coloured head.

Speaker 2 The last thing he remembered was seeing the blurred image of a strange face right in front of his own, staring into his eyes.

Speaker 2 Then, he blacked out.

Speaker 2 Neither Kevin, Claire nor the hypnotherapist had any idea what to do with this information.

Speaker 2 Whilst prevalent, hypnotic regression is not an exact science. And though Claire and Kevin did not end up staying together, he remains adamant that their experience was no dream.

Speaker 2 Manny Kunkel was born in Germany in 1988.

Speaker 2 In his email to us, he recalled that when he was about 17 years old, one of his friends, a girl named Amelie, would regale him with tales about aliens.

Speaker 2 In fact, she claimed that she had been in contact with extraterrestrials all her life.

Speaker 2 For his part, Manny was immensely skeptical. In his mind, Amelie was just a fantasist, but he did enjoy humouring her whenever she spoke about the subject.

Speaker 2 One day he finally asked her to describe what these supposed aliens looked like.

Speaker 2 She claimed that they were very tall, somewhat slim and had white skin. In many cases she said they could pass for humans, especially the females.

Speaker 2 Jokingly, Manny told her to tell them that he would like to meet them and that they should come and visit him.

Speaker 2 Of course, he thought nothing of this remark.

Speaker 2 As the days passed, he forgot about the interaction entirely.

Speaker 2 Then, one hot night in the summer of 2005, Manny was awoken by a strange buzzing noise.

Speaker 2 It was dark but he could immediately sense that there was someone in the room with him.

Speaker 2 He went to wipe his eyes but felt a pressure on his hand. as if it was being held down.

Speaker 2 Suddenly the weight released and he looked down just in time to see a spindly white hand moving away from his own before receding into the darkness of the room.

Speaker 2 His heart pounding, Manny spun around and turned on his lamp, only to discover that the room was empty. He was alone.

Speaker 2 He would have similar experiences on two more occasions before he finally told Amelie that he in fact did not want to meet her alien friends and would she mind asking them to stop visiting.

Speaker 2 He never experienced the phenomenon again.

Speaker 2 So what are we to make of these stories?

Speaker 2 The first thing to note is that all of them take place when the individuals are asleep, which lends credence to the sceptical view that they are the result of hallucinations during sleep paralysis.

Speaker 2 Indeed, much of what is described by those taken in the night fits the common symptoms of this condition, being unable to move, a heavy weight pressing down on the body, and the feeling of an ominous presence.

Speaker 2 Scientists attribute sleep paralysis experiences to the brain being trapped between sleep and wakefulness, which allows it to create vivid, dreamlike hallucinations whilst the body remains stationary.

Speaker 2 This would seem to explain Manny's situation except for the fact he says the paralysis was only momentary and only affected his hand.

Speaker 2 In the cases of Kevin and Joe who were totally incapacitated during their encounters, there was physical evidence after the incident.

Speaker 2 Even for sceptics, it's difficult to explain the appearance of injuries or the movement of objects in the room as the result of sleep paralysis.

Speaker 2 And what of the hundreds of abduction experiences that occur when the subject is not asleep?

Speaker 2 such as the many reported incidents that take place late at night whilst driving on lonely stretches of road.

Speaker 2 This brings up yet another question.

Speaker 2 What if alien abductions are not physical events at all?

Speaker 2 Perhaps these beings are not from another planet, but from a different plane of existence, and they are not interacting with our bodies, but with our minds.

Speaker 2 Is it possible that the abductees believe they are being physically removed from their rooms whilst the actual interaction is playing out in their consciousness?

Speaker 2 This theory could explain why proving these encounters is so elusive. If the beings are able to enter our thoughts, they would leave little physical evidence behind.

Speaker 2 This theory would also explain the internal noises and visions. In Kevin's story, the couple's dogs hadn't reacted to the sounds that he and Claire heard.

Speaker 2 This is likely because they weren't occurring in the real physical world.

Speaker 2 Similarly, What if the marks on Joe's back and Claire's stomach were part of their vision, created out of their absolute belief that something physical occurred.

Speaker 2 Manifestations of this nature have been seen in other alleged supernatural phenomena, such as stigmata.

Speaker 2 On that basis, it's worth mentioning an experiment carried out by the team at Planet Weird, where they performed an alien abduction in reverse.

Speaker 2 Rather than initiating a regression, The hypnotist instead placed a suggestion into the subject's mind.

Speaker 2 This patient was unique in that they were a sceptic, not a believer.

Speaker 2 But whilst he was in a suggestive state, the hypnotist described the subject lying in bed and noticing a light at his window, followed by a small figure appearing in his room.

Speaker 2 And that was it. No more details were given.

Speaker 2 Nevertheless, upon coming out of the trance, The subject reported a whole subsequent experience of being taken aboard a ship and examined.

Speaker 2 Even after being informed of the memory implant, he remained utterly convinced that the entire episode was absolutely real.

Speaker 2 It's almost as if the hypnotist had accidentally unlocked some sort of doorway to an interaction with these beings.

Speaker 2 This raises even more profound questions about the nature of these entities.

Speaker 2 Some theorise that the greys aren't extraterrestrial at all, but spiritual beings, possibly even demons.

Speaker 2 For instance, there are reports of abductees invoking the name of Christ, which instantly ends their experience, leaving them alone and unharmed.

Speaker 2 The smell of sulphur, a classic sign of demonic presence, is also commonly reported during such encounters.

Speaker 2 Finally, it's worth considering the medieval depictions of demonic imps, which bear an uncanny resemblance to many modern descriptions of the grey aliens.

Speaker 2 Perhaps the reason so-called alien encounters are so difficult to prove is that they aren't happening in the physical world at all.

Speaker 2 The visions, sounds and smells leading up to the actual abduction could be evidence of a thinning barrier between space and time or even earth and hell.

Speaker 2 Once porous enough, these creatures are finally able to enter our minds, tormenting us as we sleep.

Speaker 2 Are we looking to outer space when we should be looking within?

Speaker 2 It's hard to tell, but one thing is certain. If these beings are intent on infiltrating our world,

Speaker 2 there seems to be little we can do

Speaker 2 to stop them.

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Speaker 2 Story 2:

Speaker 2 The Santa Isabel Entity

Speaker 2 In September of 1972, a series of bizarre encounters occurred at an industrial complex in the Argentinian city of Cordoba.

Speaker 2 Over the course of one week, witnesses to the phenomenon described crossing paths with a mysterious intruder, one whose origins remain unknown to this day.

Speaker 2 Whether it was man, beast, or something else entirely, we still have little explanation for the Santa Isabel Entity.

Speaker 2 Opened in 1955, the Santa Isabel manufacturing plant is owned and maintained by the Renault Motor Company, a French multinational that produces a wide range of vehicles and aircraft.

Speaker 2 The site itself is situated just outside the limits of Cordoba, the largest city in central Argentina. Throughout the late 1950s and 60s, the Santa Isabel plant grew quickly.

Speaker 2 By the 1970s it was already a sprawling industrial complex covering over 200 hectares.

Speaker 2 With its numerous factories and service buildings all connected by a network of internal roads, it was almost like a city in itself.

Speaker 2 Nevertheless, the plant's existence remained relatively unknown outside of South America. The only time it was even mentioned was when global economic or supply chain issues affected its output.

Speaker 2 That was until the closing months of 1972.

Speaker 2 That year, a bizarre tale was published in several national newspapers.

Speaker 2 The story detailed accounts from several workers at the plant, all of whom claimed they'd had mysterious run-ins with an otherworldly visitor.

Speaker 2 The first of these incidents reportedly took place during the early hours of the 21st of September.

Speaker 2 That evening, a night worker named Teodoro Merlot was making his usual rounds alone, as he often did.

Speaker 2 Merlot's responsibilities included securing all staff and locker rooms.

Speaker 2 As he checked each area, he kept an eye out for anything unusual and ensured the rooms were ready for use the following day.

Speaker 2 At around 1.40am, Merlot entered the plant's forging section.

Speaker 2 After verifying that the doors to the main changing room were securely locked, he continued his patrol.

Speaker 2 About four hours later he returned to the same changing room doors. Finding them still locked and wanting to answer a call of nature, he used his key to enter.

Speaker 2 The interior consisted of a large rectangular room with toilets along the rear wall, shower cubicles in the centre, and two long trough wash basins in the far corners opposite the toilets.

Speaker 2 The walls were lined with storage lockers for the workers' personal belongings.

Speaker 2 Upon entering, Merlow switched the light on above the nearest basins.

Speaker 2 This left the other side of the room dark, but there was still enough ambient light to make out details within those shadowy recesses.

Speaker 2 It was as he was strolling towards one of the toilet cubicles that he glanced to his left and came to a sudden and unexpected halt.

Speaker 2 In the darkness there, he could see the outline of a tall and muscular figure, sitting on the wash basins opposite.

Speaker 2 Merlow would later estimate that it stood nearly 8 feet tall, far larger than the average man.

Speaker 2 Dressed in a tight-fitting dark blue outfit, the figure seemed almost to merge with the shadows around it.

Speaker 2 Initially, Merlot assumed it was simply another worker, despite its unusual size, but as his eyes focused, he began to have his doubts.

Speaker 2 The figure's face had an unnatural quality, sharp angular features with large pointed ears and a triangular nose.

Speaker 2 Its skin was alarmingly pale, almost like fresh plaster, and it had no hair.

Speaker 2 But by far the most disturbing aspect was its eyes. Thin, slanted, and devoid of any glimmer of life, Merlow would later describe them as utterly soulless.

Speaker 2 As he studied the figure, a growing sense of dread took hold.

Speaker 2 Against his better judgment, he began to approach, but then froze as he heard an odd tapping noise, like metal against glass.

Speaker 2 At the same moment, the light behind him flicked off, causing him to look in that direction.

Speaker 2 However, The light at the other end of the room above the figure blinked into life.

Speaker 2 In the fraction of a second that Merlot had looked away, the figure vanished, as if it had dissolved into thin air.

Speaker 2 Startled, he turned, half expecting to see it escaping through the other door.

Speaker 2 But the room was empty.

Speaker 2 Almost immediately the dread that had gripped him turned into a strange warmth. His eyes filled with tears and he was struck by a sudden and intense migraine.

Speaker 2 Stumbling out into the hallway, he found it empty. As his symptoms slowly subsided, he tried to rationalize what he'd just seen.
It was late, he'd been awake all night.

Speaker 2 Surely it was just his mind playing tricks.

Speaker 2 Still feeling uneasy, he hurriedly completed his duties before leaving the plant to go home.

Speaker 2 Unfortunately, This eerie encounter was only the beginning of a series of unsettling events.

Speaker 2 The next day, Merlot awoke feeling much better.

Speaker 2 Knowing he was due back at work that evening, he had a meal and left his house at around 9.30pm.

Speaker 2 Like most overnight workers, he relied on the shift bus to get him to and from the plant, a routine that was rarely eventful.

Speaker 2 Yet, as he took his usual seat behind the bus driver, he felt that same strange sense of unease creeping over him.

Speaker 2 They hadn't been underway for long when Merlot glanced up at the rearview mirror above the driver.

Speaker 2 Instead of his own reflection alongside the other passengers, he saw the face of the intruder from the previous night.

Speaker 2 Somehow it filled the narrow strip of glass entirely,

Speaker 2 and

Speaker 2 It was staring directly at him.

Speaker 2 A wave of fear surged through Merlot's body.

Speaker 2 This time he could see the face in much sharper detail.

Speaker 2 Thin, narrow eyes regarded him from atop a pair of deep indentations set into the cheeks below.

Speaker 2 Beneath them was a triangular nose that seemed almost sculpted.

Speaker 2 Frantically he looked around, searching for any sign of the figure elsewhere on the bus, but there was nothing. and none of the other passengers appeared to notice.

Speaker 2 Most were either asleep or chatting quietly, oblivious to the horror unfolding before him.

Speaker 2 Desperately hoping he was imagining things, Merlot looked back at the mirror only to find the face still watching him.

Speaker 2 It remained there, unblinking for several minutes, before slowly fading away.

Speaker 2 Deeply unsettled by this second encounter, he reported the incident to his superiors upon arriving at the plant that evening. He even provided a rough sketch of the figure to support his account.

Speaker 2 His managers listened without comment, merely advising him to keep the experience to himself to avoid any ridicule.

Speaker 2 Although Merlot never saw the mysterious figure again, he experienced two more strange incidents in the weeks that followed.

Speaker 2 On one occasion, the lights in a room where he was working began to strobe inexplicably, and during another shift, he lost nearly an hour of time with no recollection of what had happened.

Speaker 2 Neither of these subsequent experiences would rival the shock of those first two encounters, until he learned that he wasn't the only worker to have seen this mysterious interloper.

Speaker 2 A week after Teodoro Merlo shared his sketch of the mysterious intruder with his superiors, One of the plant's administrators, Enrique Moreno, approached management with an unsettling experience of his own.

Speaker 2 Like Merlot, Moreno worked the night shift delivering documents between various offices across the vast facility on a motorbike, towing a trailer which carried his paperwork.

Speaker 2 On the evening of the 27th of September, at around 10.30pm, Moreno was in an office in the engineering department collecting documents for distribution.

Speaker 2 As he was gathering the papers, the office lights suddenly flickered off and then back on.

Speaker 2 This disturbance was accompanied by a loud whirring noise, similar to that of an industrial turbine.

Speaker 2 He later noted that no machinery was operating nearby at the time.

Speaker 2 Shrugging this off, Moreno left the office and continued his rounds.

Speaker 2 After his final delivery, he headed back towards the main gate to clock out.

Speaker 2 His route took him past a row of vehicle chassis stacked by the roadside, awaiting relocation.

Speaker 2 As he approached he noticed a very tall, shadowy figure walking behind the stacked metal frames.

Speaker 2 At first he assumed that this was someone being carried on the shoulders of a fellow worker or perhaps even a man on stilts.

Speaker 2 As he drew closer, the figure turned to look directly at him and then the bike's engine began to sputter.

Speaker 2 Suddenly the wheels locked, bringing him to a halt directly in front of this mysterious stranger, which was standing just a few meters away.

Speaker 2 Moreno later described the figure's movements as unnatural. Its head and arms did not seem to move independently, but appeared fixed in place with the rest of its body.

Speaker 2 Now able to observe it more closely, Moreno noticed its eerie pale skin, pronounced ears, and the soft green glow emanating from its dark, one-piece suit.

Speaker 2 He also saw a silver belt around its waist, sporting a thick holster of the same material.

Speaker 2 Frozen with a mix of fear and confusion, Moreno sat on his idling bike, unable to look away.

Speaker 2 Then a sharp acrid smell filled the air around him, as if something nearby was burning.

Speaker 2 A throbbing pressure built in his head and ears, and as he tried to raise his hand to his forehead, he found that he could barely move his limbs.

Speaker 2 Paralyzed, Moreno had no idea what to expect next.

Speaker 2 After a moment, the figure simply turned and walked off into the darkness.

Speaker 2 The instant it vanished from sight, his bike wheels suddenly unlocked, propelling him towards the security office.

Speaker 2 Barely able to regain control of his bike, Moreno arrived at the main gate where a guard immediately berated him for his reckless driving.

Speaker 2 But upon seeing Moreno's expression, the guard quickly realized that something was wrong.

Speaker 2 After listening to Moreno's story, he agreed to accompany the admin worker back onto site in the hopes of locating this strange figure.

Speaker 2 They found no trace of it, apart from two small rectangular indentations pressed into the ground, and curiously, the fact that the nearby metal chassis were worn to the touch.

Speaker 2 There was also something strange about Moreno's watch.

Speaker 2 The journey from the engineering office to the gate should have taken only a minute, and the encounter itself, by Moreno's estimate, lasted around 30 seconds.

Speaker 2 He recalled checking the time before leaving the office and saw that it was 11.13pm, yet when he arrived at the gate, the guard logged his approach at 11.30pm,

Speaker 2 a discrepancy of more than quarter of an hour.

Speaker 2 Strangely, Moreno's watch had stopped at 11.13pm and was later found to be highly magnetised.

Speaker 2 The lethargy he felt from the encounter lingered well into the next day.

Speaker 2 When he finally awoke, his girlfriend mentioned that he had been talking in his sleep, mumbling about a metal man.

Speaker 2 Despite his unsettling experience, he managed to brush it off and return to work that evening.

Speaker 2 Initially, the shift was uneventful, but later, whilst alone in his office, Moreno heard the same turbine-like whirring from the night before,

Speaker 2 this time accompanied by bright flashing lights from outside the window.

Speaker 2 Peering out, he was shocked to see the same tall figure he'd encountered by the vehicle chassis, watching him from a patch of waste ground a few meters away.

Speaker 2 It stared at him for a few seconds before walking away with an unusual gait.

Speaker 2 Racing to the main gate, Moreno found the same guard from the previous evening and urgently requested his help in locating the mysterious figure once and for all.

Speaker 2 Together they searched the waste ground and surrounding areas, but found no sign of the entity.

Speaker 2 Though the guard sympathized with his story, he suggested that Moreno head home and get some rest.

Speaker 2 Just four hours after Enrique Moreno's second sighting, a delivery driver named Lovetold Rodriguez was brought into the security office looking visibly shaken.

Speaker 2 The two employees who escorted him reported that they had found him sitting in his lorry in the middle of the complex, seemingly dazed and confused.

Speaker 2 After taking a few moments to gather his thoughts, Rodriguez was able to explain what had happened.

Speaker 2 He'd just finished delivering a load of sheep metal and was preparing to leave the site when suddenly his cab filled with a bright unexpected light.

Speaker 2 Startled he looked around searching for the source and saw a large shadow pass by the driver's side window.

Speaker 2 Though he recognised its shape to be humanoid, it was so tall that Rodriguez could not see its head.

Speaker 2 Moments later the truck's engines stalled and the surrounding street lights went out.

Speaker 2 Simultaneously, he felt a sharp buzzing in his head. Like Moreno, he tried to lift his hands to ease the discomfort, only to discover that he couldn't move his limbs.

Speaker 2 As his fear grew, he heard a deep rumbling sound, and his truck began to vibrate violently, causing objects on the dashboard to fall to the floor.

Speaker 2 Through the windscreen, he could see that the only light on the dark roadway was coming from a round object held by the towering figure, now moving in front of his vehicle.

Speaker 2 Rodriguez's description of the being matched Moreno's exactly, large bat-like ears, a muscular build and pale hairless skin.

Speaker 2 Even its stiff unnatural gait was the same.

Speaker 2 Rodriguez noted that the figure's legs barely seemed to bend at the knees, giving it a strange rocking motion as it walked. Meanwhile, its head and arms remained rigid.

Speaker 2 As it moved away from the lorry, the only things visible were the paleness of its skin and the gleam of a silver belt at its waist.

Speaker 2 Then, it simply disappeared into the night.

Speaker 2 Even after the street lamps and his lorry lights suddenly flickered back to life, Rodriguez remained frozen, struggling to process what he had just witnessed.

Speaker 2 It was at that moment that two workers approached his vehicle. Seeing his distress, they offered to help him search the area for any trace of the figure.

Speaker 2 When their search turned up nothing, they took him to the security office where he recounted the incident to the guards.

Speaker 2 After filing a report, they escorted the still bewildered driver off the site.

Speaker 2 Whilst there are several theories regarding what the three workers saw at the Santa Isabel site during that fateful week in September 1972, One fact remains clear.

Speaker 2 None of the men knew each other prior to making their reports.

Speaker 2 Each of their accounts has remained consistent over the years with no evidence of dishonesty or exaggeration.

Speaker 2 No journalist or investigator has found fault with their statements, a rarity for reports of this kind.

Speaker 2 Whilst there were minor differences in how Merlot described the entity compared to Moreno and Rodriguez, These variations could easily be attributed to the intensity of the moment.

Speaker 2 Otherwise, their descriptions align almost perfectly.

Speaker 2 The most fringe of the theories suggests that the site may have drawn the attention of an alien emissary.

Speaker 2 Proponents of this view highlight the figure's mechanical movements and appearance, comparing it to other encounters which feature robotic extraterrestrial beings, such as those reported in the Pascagoula and Risly encounters.

Speaker 2 In both cases, witnesses describe mechanical figures that behaved as if they were sentinels under alien control.

Speaker 2 Others suggest the more down-to-earth explanation, arguing that whilst the men may have been sincere in their accounts, they might have been victims of an elaborate prank.

Speaker 2 A manufacturing facility is filled with materials that could be used to construct a convincing costume.

Speaker 2 Skeptics point out that neither the guards nor the plant managers seemed alarmed by the reports, perhaps indicating that they knew more than they let on.

Speaker 2 The manager's advice to keep quiet could imply they were aware of the prank and simply wanted to avoid media interest.

Speaker 2 Though this theory is plausible and would track with similar allegations of pranksters dressing in fire suits at other industrial locations, one issue remains:

Speaker 2 How can we explain the physical and temporal effects each witness experienced?

Speaker 2 Teodoro Merlo reported an intense migraine, a feeling of heat and and watery eyes, followed by nearly an hour of lost time.

Speaker 2 Enrique Moreno's motorbike malfunctioned, leaving him immobilized. He too reported lost time, along with pressure in his ears and an acrid smell.

Speaker 2 Love told Rodriguez experienced a buzzing in his head and like Moreno, found himself unable to move when the figure was near.

Speaker 2 The similarities amongst their symptoms, particularly the sensation of heat and restricted movement, suggest exposure to forces well beyond a mere prank.

Speaker 2 According to records, the towering intruder seen at the Santa Isabel warehouses in 1972 was never encountered again, or if it was, any witnesses were encouraged to keep silent.

Speaker 2 Whether an elaborate hoax or an otherworldly visitation, the Santa Isabel entities' appearances remain memorable for their eerie consistency and the unsettling physical effects that have defied explanation.

Speaker 2 Were these men deceived by an elaborate prank, or did they glimpse something beyond human understanding?

Speaker 2 The question endures, much like the towering specter of the shadowy figure itself.

Speaker 2 Bedtime is for us.